US Stocks end mixed on rising jobless claims and stimulus gridlock

The US stocks settled in a mixed note on Thursday, 10 December 2020, with Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ending lower while technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite settled higher after seeing initial weakness.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 69.55 points, or 0.23%, to 29,999.26. The S&P 500 index dropped 4.72 points, or 0.13%, to 3,668.10. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 66.86 points, or 0.54%, to 12,405.81.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came amid disappointing economic data and slowed stimulus progress. But a jump in oil prices helped propel shares of energy producers higher, allowing major indexes to finish well off their lows.

New filings for unemployment benefits climbed to an unadjusted 853,000 for the week that ended on Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday. The reading was the highest level in 11 weeks and a sharp increase from the previous week's revised total of 716,000. Continuing claims, which track the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits, jumped to 5.8 million for the week that ended on November 28.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase in U.S. consumer prices in the month of November. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2% in November after coming in unchanged in October. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still edged up by 0.2% in November after showing no change in the previous month.

Traders kept an eye on the latest developments in Washington amid lingering uncertainty about a new fiscal stimulus bill. The House has passed a one-week funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, although lawmakers remain at a stalemate over coronavirus relief. The impasse partly reflects a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over including aid for state and local governments.

Energy shares were sharply higher, with oil prices climbing nearly 3%. Brent crude rose $1.39, or 2.8%, to settle at $50.25 a barrel, gaining for a third day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.26, or 2.8%, to settle at $46.78.

Among Indian ADR, HDFC Bank added 0.03% to $67.47, Wipro added 0.19% to $5.32, Dr Reddys Labs added 0.5% to $68.33, and Vedanta rose 4.61% to $7.95. WNS Holdings shed 0.11% to $70.50, ICICI Bank declined 0.43% to $13.91, Azure Power Global fell 3.1% to $32.82, INFOSYS dropped 0.19% to $15.50, and Tata Motors fell 3.15% to $11.99.

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